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ODOT NEWS RELEASE
I-5 hazard tree project near Canyonville will finish ahead of schedule
Dec. 2, 2022
CANYONVILLE -- A contractor for ODOT is giving southern Oregon travelers an early present for the holidays.
Brink Brothers Inc. will complete work three weeks ahead of schedule on a project near Canyonville that had slowed down Interstate 5 traffic for most of November. After today, no more traffic delays are expected.
The project, which removed hazard trees damaged by the Milepost 97 Complex Fire south of Canyonville in 2019, required daily rolling slowdowns between Tri City and Azalea. Most delays were less than 20 minutes, but thousands of motorists were affected each day.
Brink Brothers began cutting trees on Nov. 1 and had been scheduled to continue work until the end of the year. However, they were able to remove all of the trees by the end of November.
“This is an important safety project because we don’t want to risk having damaged trees fall into the roadway,” ODOT Assistant District Manager Mark Epps said. “But we understand how delays affect folks in our area, so we wanted to complete this work quickly.”
Over the next week, the contractor will seed the slopes and install erosion control features. Motorists should watch for shoulder closures and construction vehicles through Friday, Dec. 9.
The project removed an estimated 4,000 trees along the slopes near I-5 between Canyon Creek Pass and Canyonville (milepost 90-97). Although many green trees were removed, their root systems and the slopes surrounding them may have been damaged or weakened by the wildfire, putting the trees at risk of falling or sliding into the roadway.
The rolling slowdowns provide a 20-minute gap in traffic, allowing the contractor to cut trees and remove any debris that falls into the roadway. When trees are located close to the roadway, OSHA requires that slowdowns be used in both directions.
For more information, contact ODOT Public Information Officer Dan Latham at 541-817-5200 or Dan.Latham@odot.state.or.us.
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 CANYONVILLE – Brink Brothers employees clear debris from Interstate 5 south of Canyonville the week before Thanksgiving. ODOT used rolling slowdowns to create a gap in traffic that allowed the contractor to safely remove hazard trees from the slopes next to the roadway. PHOTO COURTESY BRINK BROTHERS INC.
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